Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of planning a armed takeover in last fall and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which included plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The plot was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, numerous his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
